Display device



J. C. COOK DISPLAY DEVICE Jan. 27, 1959 2 Sheeos--SheetI 1 INVEN'Tox 7 d777e`s C.' Cao Filed Oct. 14, 1955 Jan. 27, C, COOK v DISPLAY DEVICE v Filed Oct. 14, 1955 2` sheets-sheet 2 ,ff Em. M1216 Fei IN V EN TOR.

United States Patent O DISPLAY DEVICE James C. Cook, Detroit, Mich...

Application October 14, 1955, Serial No. 540,474

4 Claims. (Cl. 40-39) Thisinvention relates to display apparatus and,kmore particularly, to an improved rotatable display device'particularly adapted for advertising purposes.

An object of the present invention is to overcome disadvantages in prior devices of the indicated character and to provide an improved display device incorporating improved means for driving select-ed components thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved display device incorporating improved means for attracting the attention of passers-by.

Another object of the invention is to provide an irn-V proved display device that is economical to manufacture and assemble, durable, reliable in operation and pleasing in appearance.

Still another object of the present invention is to pro` vide animproved display device incorporating improved means for effecting the rotation of selected components in predetermined timed relationship.

The above as well as other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, the appended claims, and the laccompanying drawings, wherein: l

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a display device embodying the present invention; y

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the structure illustrated in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional View of the-structure of Fig. 2, taken on the line 3-3 thereof;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional View of 'a portion of the structure illustrated in Fig. 2; and y Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view in plan showing the operation of the display device of the present invention, with background areas of contrasting colors thereon represented by suitable crosshatching.

Referring to the drawings, the present inventionk is shown incorporated in a display device, although it will be understood that the present invention is suitable for other uses. v

The display device includes vertical shaft 5, secured to staunchion 7 by means of support member 9, which, in turn, is secured about vertical shaft 5 by lbolt and Washer assembly 11 at the bottom and 13 at the top, if desired.

The supporting member 9 is secured to a strap member 17 which, in turn, is securely fastened to supporting Stanchion 7. Stanchion 7 may be -a high vertical pole to lift ythe display device above the ground so that it will attract attention of passers-by and receive strong winds. 1t will be apparent that other means of support may be employed or that it may be supported near the ground, if desired. In certain cases, that is all the support the display device may require; but, in other instances, it may become desirable to further support the display device, in which case the means designated at 19 may be employed. Member 19 is a continuous hoop-like rod (shown broken in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2) which encompasses the entire display device. It extends in -a direction rightwardly from its location in Fig. 2 beyond the farthest extremity of the display device' and takes a semicircular bend inwardly 1809 in order to provide further support for vertical support shaft 5 at its upper end. At the bottom of the display device, member 19 is secured to supporting member 9 and strap member 17, while at the top of the'displ-ay device it is secured to sleeve 23 which in turn is secured to nonrotating vertical support shaft 5 by means of bolt and washer assembly 13 previously mentioned. Through a hole 6 in vertical support shaft 5 near its center is a rotating horizontal support shaft 15. Horizontal support shaft 15 is rotatably driven `in ay mannerhereinafter to 4be described through vthe 'agency of a sleeve. bearing 21 disposed about verticalsupport shaft 5. Sleeve bearing 21 is adapted to rotate about vertical support shaft 5, and it is driven by' the outer advertising element 25 composed of two half sections 25a and 25b secured thereto. That half 25b of outer rotating advertising element 25 (as best shown in Fig. 5) is shown as concave, as viewed from a counterclockwise direction; similarly, the other4 half 25a is shown asvconcavefviewed from the same direction. The two rotating halves of outer rotating advertising element 2S are also secured tosleeve bearing 27 which in turn is secured to outer ksleeve member 29 so that the unit 27, 29 is rigidly secured to the-halves 25a and 25h of outer rotating advertising element 25. Bearings 31 disposed in suitable races reduce friction between the vertical support shaft 5 and the rotating sleeve 29. A cover 33 fits over the hall bearings 31 to keep dust and foreign particles loutside `the same. Atthe bottom of outer rotating yadvertising element 25 is secured an adapter 35 which is also secured to sleeve bearing 21 and it rides on bearings 37 disposed in suitableraces so as to take up thrust and reduce friction between it and support member 9.y Sleeve 2li at its upper portion is secured to bevel gear 43. which engages a pinion gear 43 which in turn is secured to rotating horizontal shaft 15. V(Best shown in Fig. 4.) Horizontal rotating shaft 15 rides in a support member generally designated at 49 which is secured to vertical support shaft 5 by tubula-r portion 51 which in turn is joined or secured to a horizontal circular plate 53. Horizontalshaft 15 rotates while supported by support member 49 within a hole 6 in vertical support shaft 5 near its center. Support member 49 has a horizontal member 53, and depending therefrom are vertical portions 55 and 57 which contain ball bearings 45 and 47 disposed in inner and outer races so that shaft 15 can freely rotate within support member 49. Secured to the extremities of horizontal shaft 15 are sleeve members 58a and Sb to which are secured the parts of inner rotating advertising lelement 59. inner rotating advertisingelement 59 is composed of circular disks 59a and 59h. Inner rotating advertising element 59 has flat planar dis 's 59a and 59h in contrast to outer rotating advertising ele# ment ZSwhich has two concave-convex portions' 25a and 25h previously described. The peripheral portions of4 parts 25a and 25h are inturned.

Outer rotating advertising element 25 has one of its halves in a certain background color and the other half in a contrasting background color with indicia imprinted or otherwise affixed to both halves. Likewise, inner rotating advertising element 59 has the surfaces of each of its disks divided into two substantially equal areas of colors that contrast respectively with the background colors of the two halves of outer rotating advertising element 25. For convenience of description, it will be assumed that the contrasting colors on both rotating ad vertising elements are red andwhite. are chosen merely for convenience in describing a special feature of the present invention, and it will be apparent that any sets of contrasting colors could be employed equally well.

Fig. Sis a diagrammatic view showing the operation of the display device of the presentinvention. In plan These two colors View, schematically, is shown outer advertising element 25 comprised of halves 25a ZSb. It will be assumed that it rotates in the direction of the arrow shown. Likewise is shown, schematically, inner rotating element 59 composed of disks 59a and 59h which rotate in the direction shown by the arrow. Contrasting colors such, for example, as red and white, are represented by suitable crosshatching, and they are symbolic of the background colors which would be placed upon the outer surfaces of the advertising elements. The points of the compass are shown by N, E, S and W. As can be seen from Fig. 5, the background colors of each half of the inner elements 59a and 59h contrast with the background colors of each half of the outer elements 25a and 251;. When the inner rotating advertising element is disposed with respect to the outer rotating advertising element in spaced relation, as shown in Fig. 5, they are said to be in registry. Registry, as used throughout the specication and in the claims, is defined as that part in the rotation of the inner and outer elements wherein the plane in which the outer element lies is parallel to the planes in which the inner elements lie and the background colors on the outer rotating advertising element contrast with the adjacent background colors on the inner rotating advertising element.

It can be seen that registry will occur twice during each revolution of the outer rotating element if the speed of rotation of the inner element is twice that of the outer rotating element or an even multiple thereof. Registry is important in that it facilitates the conveyance of a message to a viewer of the display device. The background areas of the outer rotating advertising element are preferably made to contrast and have indicia imprinted thereon. The indicia on the outer element will be easier to read if the background areas contrast with the adjacent background area of the inner rotating element. This contrast of background areas between the adjacent portions of the inner and outer rotating advertising elements greatly increases the readability of the device for a viewer trying to read the message which the indicia is attempting to convey.

Fig. 5 will be described in more detail to explain how registry facilitates the conveyance of a message. Viewed from the west, the outer rotating advertising element 25 has a background of red on its left half 25a and a background of white on its right half 25h. Contrastingly, if that half of inner rotating element 59a is viewed from the west, the right-hand side is predominately red, and the left-hand side is predominately white; thus, the background areas on the inner and outer advertising elements contrast. If viewed from the east, the other half 59h of inner rotating advertising element 59 is white on the viewers left and red on the viewers right, and these background areas contrast respectively with the red background area on the left half 25h and the white background area on the right half 25a of outer rotating advertising element 25. This means that when a viewer views the advertising device from the west he sees contrasting areas presented to him both on his left-hand side and on his right-hand side; similarly, a viewer from the east of the display device of the present invention will see contrasting background colors presented to him on both his leftand right-hand sides. The contrasts presented produce a very striking eifect in making the indicia on the advertising device stand out.

Now then, if the outer rotating element is rotated 180, the same background areas will be presented to the east and west as before it was rotated (or when it was at 0). In order, then, that the inner rotating advertising element 59 can, by its two halves 59a and 59b, present contrast ing backgrounds which exactly match .the contrasting backgrounds as were presented before outer rotating element rotated 180, it must rotate 360. In this way, it. will present for the viewer from the east on his left a White background to contrast with the red background appearing on that half 2511 of outer element 25'; and, similarly, for the viewer from the west on his right, it must present a red background to contrast with the white background on half 251; of outer element 25. Thus, it can be seen that one of the novel aspects of the present invention can be accomplished by rotating inner element 59 composed of 59a and 59b at twice the speed of rotating outer element 25 or at even multiples thereof. In so doing, the outer rotating element would rotate about a vertical axis while the inner rotating advertising element 59 would rotate twice as fast or four times as fast, etc. about a horizontal axis. In thus designing the two parts to rotate at predetermined definite ratios of each other, there is presented contrasting background areas at registry, or near registry, which makes it easier for the viewer who discerns the advertising display device to read the particular indicia printed thereon.

In the operation of the advertising display device of the present invention, the wind is preferably the primary source of power, although it will be apparent that the device can be artificially driven when desired. The arrangement for artificially driving the display device, as, for example, by an electric motor, can be any of those well known to the art. For example, a small electric motor can be mounted at the center of the support shaft and be geared to drive the inner rotating element or it may be mounted near the base of the support shaft and be geared to drive the outer element. Various modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. Assume for purposes of explanation of operation of the advertising display device that the wind is the source of power. In this case, the wind would be caught in the concave scoops defined by members 25a and 25h, causing them to rotate about a vertical axis. This rotation would, of course, be about vertical support shaft 5. The rotation due to outer rotating element 25a and 25b would be transmitted to bevel gear 41 through the sleeve bearing 21 which is rigidly secured to the outer rotating advertising element 25, through its halves 25a and 25h. Sleeve bearing 21 is secured to bevel gear 41 causing it to rotate. Rotation of bevel gear 4l which mates with pinion gear 43 causes shaft 15 to rotate as well as sleeve members 58a and 58b since they are secured thereto. As a consequence of horizontal shaft 15 rotating about a horizontal axis, the inner advertising elements '59a and 59b likewise rotate about a horizontal axis. Gear 43 can be any size but is preferably designed to be made smaller than gear 41 so that inner rotating elements 59a and 59]: rotate at a greater speed than outer rotating element Z5. The ratio of speeds, of course, can be varied by varying the ratio between the two gears. A 2:1 ratio, or even multiples of this ratio, is preferred because registry will occur during rotation using this ratio. At or near registry, there will always be presented to the viewer from whatever side of the display device it is viewed contrasting background areas formed by the outer rotating element 25 and inner rotating element 59. As previously pointed out, these contrasting backgrounds make it easier for the viewer to read the indicia which, of course, is a fundamental purpose of a display device. The manner in which the rotating elements are supported substantially reduces friction between the rotating and stationary parts and thus insures that the display device Will operate with small amounts of power input.

While it has been shown that the outer rotating advertising element rotates about a vertical axis and the inner rotating advertising element rotates about a horizontal axis, it will be apparent that the outer rotating advertising element may be disposed so as to rotate about any suitable axis with the inner rotating element rotating about an axis perpendicular thereto. Likewise, While it has been shown that the outer rotating advertising element is the drive for the inner rotating advertising element, it will be apparent that, when an artificial source of power is employed, the inner rotating advertising element may be 's employed to drive the outer rotating advertising element. It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes and modifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an advertising display device, an inner advertising element comprising a disk mounted for rotation about a stationary axis, through the center thereof a ring-shaped outer advertising element, mounted for rotation about an axis perpendicular to said rst mentioned axis, said outer element generating a hollow solid of revolution which encompasses said inner element as said outer element is rotated, said elements having surfaces which are adapted for carrying advertising messages and which face in the same direction at least once during each revolution of the outer element, and means connecting said inner element with said outer element so that said inner element is rotated in response to rotation of said outer element.

2. In an advertising display device, an inner advertising element comprising a pair of parallel planar disks which rotate about a stationary axis through the centers of the disks, an outer advertising element comprising two halves encompassing the inner rotating element and adapted to be rotatably driven about an axis perpendicular to the first mentioned axis, said halves having surfaces provided with advertising messages and arranged so that they face in the same direction at any one time, and means connecting the inner element with the outer element so as to rotate the inner element at an angular velocity which is a predetermined ratio of the angula velocity of said outer element.

3.?In an advertising display device, an inner advertising element which rotates about a stationary axis, a

' ring-shaped outer rotating advertising element encompassing the inner element adapted to be rotatably driven about an axis perpendicular to the said rst mentioned axis, and means connecting the inner rotating element with the outer rotating element so as to rotate the inner element at an angular velocity such that the inner element and the outer element fac-e in the same direction and present a readable advertising message twice during each revolution of the outer element.

4. In an advertising display device, an inner advertising element comprising a pair of planar disks which rotate about stationary axes through the centers thereof, said disks having each face thereof divided into two substantially equal contrasting background areas, an outer substantially ring-shaped rotating advertising element having opposite faces each of which has contrasting background areas thereon, said outer element encompassing the said inner element and adapted to be driven about an axis perpendicular to said first mentioned axis, and means connecting the said inner element with the said outer element so as to rotate the inner element at an angular velocity such that the contrasting background areas on the said inner element contrast with and face in the same direction as the contrasting background areas on the said outer element twice during each revolution of the said outer element.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 334,557 Bengert Jan. 19, 1886 537,034 Hanson Apr. 9, 1895 1,528,506 Opacki Mar. 3, 1925 2,592,286 Jacobs Apr. 8, 1952 2,688,820 Shemet Sept. 14, 1954 

